How to net new clients: if you practice law, you need a Web site, says this marketing expert. Here's how to get a good one without blowing the budget.

What good is a Web site? That is a question I hear from a lot of attorneys, especially those who are skeptical of the Internet's ability to help build their practices.

Lawyers often tell me that they don't need a Web site because they get most of their clients through referrals or listings in the Yellow Pages. Yet these lawyers are invisible to the estimated millions of people who use the Internet as their primary source of information and who, therefore, are likely to turn to it first when they need the services of a lawyer, doctor, or other professional.

Statistics show that only 32 percent of consumers use the Yellow Pages. Given that, lawyers who do not have a Web site may not be reaching as much as 68 percent of their potential client base.

And consumers are not the only people who let their fingers do the walking on the keyboard. Lawyers, law students, and employees of attorney-referral services also use the Internet to find information about legal professional. Using online search tracking tools, I made a list of the number of times typical law-related search terms are entered by visitors to one of the Internet's popular search engines in the course of a month. It illustrates how often the Net is used to locate lawyers.

* lawyer--88,434

* attorney--66,765

* law firm--26,307

* legal advice--39,088

A Web site also can provide your target audience with much more information about you and your firm than typical marketing tools. For example, you can design your site to include a summary of the firm's history and a description of its culture and values. You cannot do that with an ad in the Yellow Pages or newspaper or a billboard display.

In fact, not having a Web presence may be a turn-off to potential clients in this increasingly Web-savvy society. Many people now think that a law firm should maintain a Web site as a "professional courtesy." Not having one is like not being able to provide a business card when a potential client asks for it.

What makes a good site?

Law firm Web sites are as varied as the personalities of the firms they are designed to represent. But all good sites share certain characteristics.

Consistency. The design and content of your Web site should feature the same color schemes, logos, or trademarks that the firm currently uses in print ads and brochures. This consistent graphic identity will help consumers differentiate your site from the thousands of others.

Thorough content. When it comes to Internet marketing, content is king. This is because a person who does not know that your site exists will probably find it only if a link to it comes up in response to a query placed on one of the major search engines. For example, if a person types the keywords "domestic relations," the sites that have those words in their content will pop up first. If your firm handles domestic relations cases but refers to them as "family law" cases throughout the site, the search engine may not list your site or may put it toward the bottom of the list of sites that might relate to the person's query. The more content you have, the better the chances are that potential clients and referral sources will find your site. You should include

* a list of the firm's lawyers, along with their educational background, areas of expertise, accomplishments and publications, and professional affiliations.

* descriptions of the firm's practice areas.

* a mission statement or a brief discussion of the firm's values.

* contact information, including the firm's street and e-mail addresses and its central phone and fax numbers.

Include the firm's phone number on all pages; this will ensure that when visitors decide to hire your firm, they don't have to go to another page on the site to get the contact information. Also, consider providing direct phone numbers and e-mail addresses for support staff and attorneys.

Other items you might want to display include

* client and peer testimonials.

* support staff information, including their positions, educational background, and accomplishments.

* brief summaries of cases the firm has handled successfully.

* articles written by the firm's lawyers for the Web site or for print publications.

* published articles about the firm.

* frequently asked questions (also known as FAQs) about the firm or the legal issues it handles.

* firm news.

* news about current legal issues.

* information about employment opportunities with the firm.

* an online consultation or inquiry form.

Remember: Every piece of information you add to your Web site increases its visibility on the Net.

Current content. Information must be kept current. If you lose or add a staff member or hire a new associate or attorney, update that information as soon as possible. Post new case results and firm news to keep the site fresh. Many law firms make the mistake of simply "having" a Web site, not using it to project the firm's image and accomplishments.

Ease of use. Organize information on the site in a way that provides users with quick and easy access to it. Include a site map and ensure that buttons or text links are self-explanatory. The text should be large enough to be read easily on all computer screen sizes. The text should also be in a dark color against a light, preferably white, background. Using hard-to-read text is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when designing your site. If users cannot easily read the content on your site, you are likely to lose them quickly.

Before going public, check your local state bar rules on marketing generally, and Web sites specifically. Some states have strict rules about law firm sites; others have not yet addressed the issue. The American Bar Association's ethics section is a good reference for information about state rules on Web sites and advertising: www.abanet.org/legresource/ethics.html.

To market, or not to market?

Many attorneys are opposed to "advertising" themselves or their firms, but maintaining a Web site is not necessarily a marketing effort. As stated previously, a Web site has become an expected professional courtesy. Even if your firm is 100 years old and gets the majority of its cases from referrals, you should have a Web site.

Whether you market your site once you have it is a personal choice. If you decide to do so, it can be your most cost-effective source for new business. In the Internet's 24/7 world, marketing efforts are not limited by the constraints of time and place posed by real-world advertising. For example, the targeted audience does not have to be watching television when an ad is scheduled to run or reading a specific magazine issue in which an ad appears. Information about your firm is available whenever visitors have time to take a look.

What about cost? Other than word of mouth, the Internet is the least expensive marketing tool available. In fact, Internet advertising is so inexpensive it is leveling the playing field for lawyer marketing; your firm does not have to have a huge advertising budget to produce a highly visible and informative site.

You can get a presence on the Internet for under $1,000. You can also get one for $100,000. Remember: Web designers are salespeople. Each one is likely to tell you that his or her system or product is the best. To avoid paying more for a Web site than you need or want to, take these important steps early on:

* Decide whether you want to market your Web site and how aggressively you want to advertise.

* Establish a realistic budget for your advertising, and stay within it.

* Set goals and expected dates for attaining them.

Hundreds of companies specialize in building sites for and offering other Web-related services to lawyers. Finding your way through the maze is sometimes difficult, but take your time to peruse the options.

Search the Internet to see what other law firms have done. Run queries on the major search engines, using keywords and keyword phrases that pertain to your practice areas, to see who your competition is. Call lawyers who are listed on the sites of Web designers you are considering and ask the lawyers what their experiences have been. Call the firms that have sites you like. Many lawyers who do aggressive Internet marketing employ a consultant or staff member who handles their advertising. They are usually willing to share information.

Try to narrow the search down to three companies and then ask for quotes.

What are the options?

Web design firms are not the only options for getting or increasing visibility on the Net. Others include:

Attorney directories. These are legal portal sites that offer listings to lawyers and are usually free to consumers. More than 200 attorney directories can be found on the Internet. Prices for a listing vary. Some are free; others charge as much as $150,000 per year for an advertising spot. Some work, some don't. Don't assume that because a directory costs more it will bring you more business.

If you are considering purchasing a listing on an attorney directory site, ask the company that owns the site how long it has been in business, how many people visit the site every month, and what type of marketing the company does to promote the site. Many of these companies will provide a Web site if you advertise in their directories. Some directories offer advertisements on their Web pages that rotate each time the page is viewed so all listed lawyers get the same exposure.

Search-engine optimization. Search-engine optimization is the process of designing a Web site so that the search engines will rate it high in search results. It is achieved through a combination of proper site architecture, proper keyword phrases, and metatags, which are codes imbedded in a site that are used by search engines to determine its content and subject matter.

Whether you want to advertise nationally or just want to get cases in your community, search-engine optimization is the way to do it.

Keyword bidding. Some search engines allow you to bid on the placement you wish to have on certain keywords. If you are the high bidder, you get top placement for a keyword search. For example, if 10 firms use "products liability" as keywords, your firm would appear at the top of the list that appears in response to a search query including those words. You maintain that placement by paying a fee per each visitor referred to your site from the search engine.

Banner advertising. These are highly visible ads, usually placed near the top or along the sides of a search engine's pages. They also can be placed on legal portal sites and many consumer sites. Banner advertising has not been proven to be highly effective, but it is still an option that some law firms are choosing.

Improving client relations

To make the public areas of your site informative and helpful to your clients and potential clients, consider including a "links" page to assist visitors in finding information easily. Think of this page as a place to include information for the general public, not just information specific to your firm.

For example, you could include links and phone numbers for the government offices of your city and state, local rape crisis and poison control centers, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. You might also consider including searchable archives of the firm's newsletters and articles written by staff lawyers.

Many firms are now building client extranets into their Web sites. An extranet is a private section of a Web site that is password-protected. Only visitors with a password can post or read information in this area. You might consider letting clients use this area to see calendaring information related to their cases. This can help to decrease the number of calls your office receives from clients who want to know this information. It also provides a benefit to clients by offering access to this information even when the office is closed.

If you take the time to do it right, launching and maintaining a law firm Web site can heighten your firm's visibility, increase your client base, and improve client relations.

Careful planning and thorough research is as essential in this endeavor as it is in the cases you bring to the courtroom. Your Web site is the portal to your firm's future--pass through it with care so your clients can follow with confidence.

Susan L. Sipe is president of SLS Consulting in South Pasadena, California. She can be reached at [e-mail].